When is one head better than two? Interdependent information in group decision making

Research on information exchange in group decision making has frequently assumed that information items have independent meanings. Relaxing this assumption raises new issues and presents new possibilities. In the experiment presented here, dyads worked on hidden profile decision tasks in which pairs of unshared information items had interdependent meanings. Dyad decisions were more likely to be accurate when each pair of interdependent items was allocated to a single member (a “connected” hidden profile) than when each pair of interdependent items was separated between the two members (a “disconnected” hidden profile). These information distributions influenced the degree to which dyads considered unshared information. Cognitive load was manipulated, and it impaired decision makers’ ability to identify connections among interdependent information items. The differentiated distribution of information inherent in transactive memory systems moderated the negative effects of cognitive load on dyad decisions.     

The role of individual differences,response profiles,and treatment consonance in anxiety disorders

The importance of individual differences, response profiles, and treatment consonance in anxiety-disorders clinical research is reviewed. Anxiety-disorders assessment, synchrony, and concordance phenomena are examined within the framework of the tripartite model. Issues regarding response stereotypy, response specificity, and etiological vs. current response typologies are discussed. Interactions of varying response profiles with different treatment modalities are addressed, in terms of both previous and prospective studies. A preliminary classification schema is offered, for illustrative purposes, with empirical support for the differential outcome of anxiety patients receiving consonant vs. nonconsonant response profile × treatment type pairings. Hypotheses are presented regarding predicted effects of consonant vs. nonconsonant subject-treatment interactions. Recommendations for programmatic research are offered to accelerate scientific inquiry into the role of individual differences and response profiles in anxiety-disorders assessment, treatment, and research.Preparation of this paper was supported in part by National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH 36299.     

MMPI Profiles of Liver and Heart Transplant Candidates With and Without Significant Histories of Heavy Alcohol Use

This study compared the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profiles of liver and heart transplant candidates with (n = 104) and without (n = 253) significant histories of heavy alcohol consumption. The alcohol and nonalcohol groups had similar overall mean profiles with significant or marginally significant (i.e., T 69) clinical elevations on Scales 1, 2, and 3. However, significantly higher proportions of those in the liver transplant group than in the heart transplant group scored within the clinical range on Scales F, 4, 6, and 8. In addition, the proportions of respondents obtaining clinically elevated scores were significantly higher for the alcohol than for the nonalcohol group on Scale 4 and the MacAndrew Scale; the proportion was higher for the nonalcohol than for the alcohol group on Scale K. The overall similarity of the mean profiles indicates that candidates for liver or heart transplantation with and without histories of heavy alcohol use generally display similar psychological presentations. The observed differences between the liver and the heart transplant groups may reflect impairments in mental status among liver transplant candidates due to metabolic consequences of liver disease. The differences between the alcohol and the nonalcohol groups may be more a reflection of past behavioral patterns than present psychological status.     

无边界职涯背景下的离职:重回决策者中心

离职曾被视作组织中的"问题"而受到学术界的重视。传统离职研究更关注通过改变员工的态度来减少离职,进而降低离职对组织产生的负面影响,具有鲜明的组织立场。然而离职的本质是员工个体的决策。无边界职业生涯背景下,面对更加多样化的生涯选择,员工在离职决策中的主体性更加凸显,离职研究需要重回决策者中心,重新聚焦决策者:(1)以决策者为中心探讨离职影响因素;(2)探讨决策者制定离职决策的内在过程;(3)关注员工离职的实际行为及后果。     

The natural egocenter: An experimental account of locating the self

A lot of research suggests that people have an understanding of what they consider their ‘self’ and where it is located, namely near the head and upper torso. We assess whether these interpretations of the location of the self, which are based on subjective ratings, can be confirmed with an objective measure. Therefore, we used a paradigm in which neutral stimuli are associated with the self and a prioritization of the newly self-associated stimuli is interpreted as an integration of the stimuli into the self. Remarkably, only when the to-be-associated stimuli were presented close to the head and upper torso they were integrated and prioritized, but not when the stimuli were presented far away from these regions. The results indicate an influence of the distance between to-be-associated stimuli and the head/upper torso, thereby suggesting an implicit location of the self in this area, which does not depend on external beliefs.     

Stages of change in fruit intake: A longitudinal examination of stability,stage transitions and transition profiles

The present study examined stability and transitions in Transtheoretical stages of change for fruit intake in an adult cohort of 735 individuals not exposed to a planned intervention. Six assessments took place within a four-month period with varying time intervals using electronic questionnaires, measuring fruit intake, stage of change and demographic characteristics. Precontemplation and maintenance were the most stable stages of change, while preparation was the least stable. Longer time intervals showed lower stability, but frequent stage transitions also occurred in shorter time intervals. Seven transition profiles were distinguished. Sequences within transition profiles mostly showed stage transitions to adjacent stages, independent of the interval duration. Differences in fruit intake, age, level of education and ethnicity were found between different transition profiles. Stability rates and most transition sequences largely support the Transtheoretical Model. Results indicating potential deviations from the model, e.g. short-term stage instability and stage transition profiles not in accordance with the Transtheoretical Model are discussed.     

Self-regulatory efficacy's role in the relationship between exercise identity and perceptions of and actual exercise behaviour

Identity theory posits that when people endorse an identity they maintain or alter their behaviour in order to behave consistently with that identity. This assertion is supported in the exercise context where strength of exercise identity relates to exercise behaviour. Less is known about self-regulatory constructs that may aid individuals in behaving consistently with their exercise identity. Self-regulatory efficacy may mediate the relationship between exercise identity and exercise given the influence of this variable on exercise self-regulation; this relationship has not been examined. Exercise identity research has focused on the relationship between identity and behaviour; yet, identity theory recognizes perceptions of identity-behaviour consistency as theoretically important. Through influencing how identity-relevant information is processed, self-regulatory efficacy may also mediate the relationship between exercise identity and perceptions of identity-behaviour consistency.ObjectiveIdentity and social cognitive theories were used to examine self-regulatory efficacy as a mediator between exercise identity and i) exercise behaviour and ii) perceptions of identity-behaviour consistency.Method/designUndergraduate students (n = 311) were followed for 8 weeks. At baseline, participants completed demographic, exercise identity and exercise measures. After 4 weeks they reported their self-regulatory efficacy and after 8 weeks they reported their perceptions of identity-behaviour consistency and their exercise behaviour.ResultsConsistent with theory, self-efficacy mediated the relationship between exercise identity and both outcomes.ConclusionsFindings extend the exercise identity literature by providing empirical support for self-regulatory efficacy as a mechanism through which exercise identity strength leads to exercise behaviour and the perception of behavioural consistency with exercise identity meanings.     

The boundaries of self face perception: Response time distributions,perceptual categories,and decision weighting

The current study uses an RT distribution analysis approach to examine the self-bias in face categorization. In two experiments we systematically manipulated the decision boundaries between the self, familiar, and unfamiliar others in face categorization tasks. For the first time in studies of self-categorization we estimated parameters from ex-Gaussian fits of reaction time distributions in order to capture the influence of different boundaries on the latency distribution of the categorization responses. The results showed that the distribution of responses to self faces was stable regardless of the face context and the task demands, and changes in context only shifted the response distribution in time. In contrast, varying the decisions with familiar and unfamiliar faces changed the shape of the RT distributions in addition to shifting RTs in time. The results indicate that, in contrast to our perception of familiar and unfamiliar faces of other people, self face perception forms a unique perceptual category unaffected by shifts in context and task demands.     

A broad assessment of theory of mind in adolescence: The complexity of mindreading

The aim of this research was to provide an articulated assessment of several different ToM components, namely first- vs. third-person, egocentric vs. allocentric, and first- vs. second-order ToM, in preadolescence and adolescence. Our expectations for the sample of 80 juveniles that participated in the research were that: (1) ToM abilities would improve with age; (2) participants would perform better at first-person than at third-person tasks; (3) participants would perform better at first-order than at second-order tasks; (4) girls will perform systematically better than boys. We also explored possible differences in performance (5) in the allocentric vs. the egocentric perspectives as well as (6) in the comprehension of different types of mental states, namely desires, beliefs and positive and negative emotions. Overall our expectations were confirmed. Our data confirmed that all ToM aspects we investigated keep maturing during preadolescence and adolescence.